


Sarasa Nightmare

by Jadiona



Category: Super Mario Bros. (Video Games)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 4,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29410341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadiona/pseuds/Jadiona
Summary: A world away from the overcast of his brother, Luigi finds himself having to save the kingdom from a nightmare in the making or risk having the small world he's laid out for himself be destroyed permanently. Written for SopranoStewart for FAGE 13
Relationships: Princess Daisy/Luigi
Kudos: 2





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> FAGE… The 13th.
> 
> Title: Sarasa Nightmare
> 
> Written for: SopranoStewart
> 
> Written By: Jadiona
> 
> Rating: T
> 
> Pairing: Luigi/Daisy
> 
> Beta: brierlynn03, Lovely Black Butterfly
> 
> Summary/Prompt used: A world away from the overcast of his brother, Luigi finds himself having to save the kingdom from a nightmare in the making or risk having the small world he's laid out for himself be destroyed permanently.
> 
> If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.
> 
> (A C2 will be set up for all FAGE 13 entries, and details will be posted on the Facebook page)
> 
> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> AN: So I feel the need to go into this by stating the last time I played a Mario game was Super Mario Bros, on the NES. As such my knowledge of Mario is limited at best, but I did recently watch someone on Youtube do a play-through of the Paper Mario series. The idea I'm using behind this story is inspired by the second game in that series, A Thousand Year Door.

**Sarasa Nightmare**

**Intro**

Luigi had always looked up to his big brother, Mario, but the more adventures Mario went on, the harder it was for him to truly believe his big brother and his troves of hero worshipers.

Honestly, how could anyone believe someone "saved the princess" and "saved the world" as often as his brother supposedly did?

It just didn't seem realistic or even possible...

Still, Luigi had oftentimes tried to impress his brother, walking in his shadow and following his footsteps like a lost puppy.

It wasn't until after he'd traveled to the Waffle Kingdom in an effort to rescue the young Princess Eclair, ending with not one, not two, but numerous beings threatening his life – all because of his actions – that he finally gave up.

He fled to the distant kingdom of Sarasaland.

There, he carved out a quiet life for himself, trying to put the past – and his brother's continuing epic adventures – behind him.

Both of which were difficult.

On the first front, part of him still craved that adventure; still wanted to be looked at as a hero, and still desired the rush. As for the second... well, it seemed there was nowhere he could go that would let him escape the legacy of his brother.

Despite that, he kept his head down and tried to become a successful farmer.

It wasn't a glamorous life, but it was an honest one.


	2. Chapter 1-1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 1-1**

"Have you seen the bulletin board in town!" the kid from next door – more than a league away from where he lived – shouted as he came running up the drive.

Luigi sighed under his breath before turning to the kid, Goomborio. If he had one regret about the location he'd settled in to plot out his small farm, it was the fact that he hadn't taken the time to meet all his would-be neighbors before he'd started building his home.

By the time he'd found out the child of his closest neighbor had the same hero-worship as half the people from the Mushroom Kingdom, he'd already fully built his home and started his first crops.

Goomborio was a young Goombo, about half the size of the Goombas from the Mushroom Kingdom, and wore a red cap on top of his brown dome as well as red shorts.

"Hey, Goomborio, what are you talking about now?"

"There's some sort of great fanged monster terrorizing the castle! Daisy is petitioning the people for a hero to come in and defeat it. I'm hoping Mario will come. If he shows up, I'm totally going to volunteer to help. Maybe he'll see how valuable I am and offer to take me with him once we've slain the beast! I hope it's a dragon. It's got to be a dragon, right? What else could possibly have great fangs?" Goomborio finally paused to take a breath.

"Have you ever even met my –" Luigi stopped mid-question, redirecting "– Mario? How do you know he's even worth such high praise and devotion?"

Goomborio frowned, his face screwing up as he did so. "Well, no, but of course he deserves it... I mean, even you dress like him. It's true, you must be color blind or something because he wears red and not green, but the same hat, same overalls. You even have the mustache. I swear, once I'm old enough, I'm going to grow a mustache too!"

A few years prior and Luigi would have thought the kid's overenthusiastic behavior to be cute – he might have even encouraged it – but anymore, it just served as a reminder of the long shadow that he would always live under.

Goomborio didn't notice his scowl, though; instead, the kid continued to talk. "I've got to tell the news to old man Ishnail down the way! I just thought I should tell you as I passed." He turned and raced down the drive. "I can't wait to tell Ishnail how I'm going to slay the great horned dragon with Mario! I'll be a hero, and Princess Daisy will want to marry me and everything!"

Luigi snarled, unable to forget the kid's words to him, and yanked his hat off, strangling the green cap with his hands before dropping the offending article to the ground.

After a moment, he turned back to his field, preparing to go back to hoeing so he could get ready to plant wheat to grow.


	3. Chapter 1-2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 1-2**

Luigi made his way into town with his basket of Chicken eggs and liters of Moo Moo milk to sell at the market, still frustrated by Goomborio's words from earlier that day.

Perhaps after he sold his load of goods for the day, he'd go see Chet Rippo about getting new clothes, though he wasn't certain what he'd wear if he didn't wear his standard overalls, green shirt, and green hat.

After all, even when he'd been a swaddling babe that had been his normal clothes.

Just as his big brother's had always been red.

Luigi couldn't help but wonder why Mama Mia and Papa Pio had, in essence, raised him to be a carbon copy of his older brother.

He should have been allowed to have an opportunity to be his own person.

He reached the town square with the gigantic fountain that had five massive towers of water shooting up from it, and the great stone wall with all the bulletins from the castle.

Part of him wanted to continue west to the business district, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he made his way to the wall, looking through the notices until he found the notice Goomborio had spoken of.

_A large monster with fangs  
_ _and claws has been spotted in_  
_the castle. In an effort to contain  
_ _it, we are seeking an able-bodied  
_ _hero to help._

_Princess Daisy m.p.  
_ _Signed,  
_ _Fice T._

Luigi blinked twice at the ending, wondering to himself if Fice T. even understood what m.p. stood for.

After a moment, he shook his head and continued on his way to find somewhere to sell the milk and eggs.


	4. Chapter 1-3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 1-3**

He stepped out of Chet Rippo's shop, twisting the straps of his new, darker blue pair of overalls. He didn't feel comfortable in them, wanting to go back to wearing his old pair, but he was hoping the slight change would be enough to set him apart – to stop him from being labeled as yet another Mario worshiper.

Some part of him knew it hadn't been enough of a change to make a true difference, but he ignored that part with a vengeance.

"What were you doing in Rippo's store?" Jolene asked as she paused on her walk to wherever she was going.

"Just buying some new clothes, Jolene."

Jolene was one of the main people in town who bought his goods, but aside from knowing her name, he honestly knew next to nothing about her.

But most of the people knew next to nothing about him too.

"Rippo is such a ripoff, though... There are a couple of actual tailors around, you know."

He barely avoided his snort of amusement.

"He was quick, which made it far easier for me. Besides, I just needed to make a simple change," Luigi said with an ever so slight shrug.

Honestly, though, who could afford to go to a tailor to get some simple clothes?

Tailors were for the rich... That, and the famous.

"What change?" Jolene asked, looking at him curiously.

"A new pair of overalls," he explained, reaching halfway up to grip the straps again before stopping himself.

"Oh..." There was a long moment where she didn't say anything – but he supplemented the 'I couldn't tell' in his head – before she finally continued, "I see."

Luigi was uncertain how to proceed after that, so there was a long and awkward silence which stretched for several seconds.

Eventually, Jolene said, "Well, I suppose I should be on my way."

He nodded his head in understanding, mumbling his own, "Goodbye."

After watching her head down the street for a few moments, he proceeded to start the trek home.


	5. Chapter 1-4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 1-4**

" _Luigi! Luigi! Luigi!" Not one voice, but a hundred – no, there had to be easily a thousand – cheered from the town square._

_Amongst the voices was Goomborio, "I'm going to change my name to Goombigi!"_

_And then more screams of his name rang out, overshadowing the young Goombo._

Luigi woke from his slumber with a start, the cheers of the crowd still echoing in his head.

It was the type of dream he hadn't had in years – one that he wished hadn't come back to haunt him.

Seeking adventure, fame, and glory was a past that he had put behind him. He was never the one who got to save the world... never the one who got the girl.

Being a farmer was his life with roots firmly planted in the ground.

He didn't have time to jump for the sky.

Luigi just had to convince his dreams of that.

Grumbling unintelligibly under his breath, he got up from his bed and made his way to his small kitchen. There, he got down his kettle and prepared himself some tea, determined to relax and return to a – hopefully – dreamless slumber.

After all, dawn always came early, and the work on the farm would still need to be done whether he was ready or not.


	6. Chapter 2-1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 2-1**

The morning found Luigi not at home but instead in front of the castle gates.

... He was one of many.

As Luigi saw the two castle guards turn away 'hero' after 'hero,' he contemplated walking away. If they wouldn't let any of the ones with ripped bods, chiseled faces, and more in, then there was no way they would let him in.

Luigi even saw a Chain Chomp get turned down.

He was just about to make his retreat, to avoid profound humiliation when he suddenly found himself in front of the two guards.

"What's your name and business here?" the one on the left grunted.

"Luigi. And I saw the bulletin posted in the square," he replied without the front of his mind even deciding to do so.

"What could someone as scrawny as you possibl..."

"Wait," a voice said from out of sight, cutting the guard off. "I know that name from somewhere."

"I recognize him, he's a farmer who comes into town sometimes," the second hulking guard finally spoke.

"No, not like that. His name, it's so familiar. I've heard it before. Luigi... Luigi... Luigi..."

Unlike the chants of his dream from the night before, there was no great reverence in the stranger's voice. Instead, it was as if the unseen voice had forgotten anyone was even there and was talking to himself.

The two guards rolled their eyes, and the one on the left opened his mouth, obviously preparing to tell Luigi to scram.

"Mario's little brother!" the voice suddenly exclaimed. "Let him through, let him through."

The two guards looked at each other before looking back at him, clear disbelief in their eyes, but they stepped aside enough that he was able to see the Toad hiding behind them.

"Come on. You are exactly what Princess Daisy has been looking for. You'll help; I know it."

Luigi stepped dumbfoundedly between the guards to follow him.


	7. Chapter 2-2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 2-2**

Luigi came to a hard stop when Fice T. – the Toad who helped him get into the castle – led him into the throne room.

"I can slay any monster, myself!" a female in a long yellow dress exclaimed angrily.

The dress had puffy arms, and the skirt was made up of two shades of yellow, the lighter shade looking almost to be designed into giant petals. She had glistening chocolate brown hair, and her eyes were bright blue, though they currently gleamed with a fire of rage.

He couldn't quite place what the dress reminded him of...

"A lady shouldn't be getting involved in such things, Princess," an exasperated voice came from the Koopatrol standing next to her.

"Daisy," Luigi half-gasped, half-mumbled, finally putting the dress together as he took a step back.

The eyes of the Koopatrol and Daisy turned to stare at him.

"Ahem," Fice T. cleared his throat loudly. " Princess, I've brought Luigi here to help with our monster problem."

Daisy looked toward the Toad. "Luigi? Am I supposed to know that name?"

"I'm no one, miss, just someone who thought I could help," Luigi said instantly.

Fice T. glanced back toward Luigi before leaning forward and hissing, "It's Mario's little brother."

Luigi's hands clenched as he was unable to help but overhear Fice T.s words.

"I didn't even know Mario had a brother." Daisy looked him up and down, her eyes locking on his clenched fists briefly.

"Well, now you do." Fice T. crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hmmm... I don't know about that, but I know _no ones_ have done miraculous things before. Show him to a room, why don't you? I'll talk to him later. After all, maybe he _can_ help." She turned back to the Koopatrol. "Now then, Spiky Tom, where do you get off telling..."

"Come on," Fice T. said, practically dragging Luigi away from the throne room.


	8. Chapter 2-3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 2-3**

"This is your room," Fice T. said after he lead Luigi down a grand hall. Fice T. turned to walk away but spun back to face him almost as fast. "Look, Princess Daisy is very strong-willed... She'd like to believe she could handle this on her own, but we've already had three Toads, and two Goombos disappear from the castle. Honestly, I fear the worst as far as they are concerned.

"When she talks to you later, she's going to play it off, make it seem like it's not such a huge deal. But it is. You must stay and save us – save this castle and this land before this beast destroys everything. I will be frank, Daisy probably won't thank you for stealing her thunder.

"Her thunder won't matter, though, if this thing _kills her_. She hasn't seen it for herself yet, so she can't possibly understand. Some of us have seen it, though. It has to be stopped, and a princess with her wannabe theatrics isn't going to cut it. We need a real hero."

Luigi was no hero. "And you're telling me all of this because..."

"I had no idea you were in the area. However, I sent a Lakitu courier with a letter to Mario almost a fortnight ago, hoping he could come to help, but he sent a reply about how he couldn't come at the moment. Apparently, he's trying to save Princess Peach and the Flower Kingdom from some sort of origami plague. I wasn't exactly sure what to make of his response, but it seems he's busy. And while I'll admit I was sort of hoping for someone like Donkey Kong, Yoshi, or even that giant pink ball who eats everything – I can't remember his name – would show up to save the day, you're the one who's here. You have to be the hero. We can't keep on waiting and hoping for someone else. In the amount of time it could take for someone else to get here, we could be obliterated."

"And what if I can't?" Luigi wanted to do what Fice T. was asking of him, but the Toad's words honestly made him doubt his potential abilities.

"You will. And if you're not sure what to do, just think 'what would Mario do?'"

Before Luigi even had time to grind his teeth, the Toad spun on his heel and walked off.


	9. Chapter 2-4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 2-4**

Luigi looked towards the bedroom door when there was a knock.

Frowning slightly, he made his way to the door and opened it.

"Your name was Louie, right?" Daisy asked as she pushed past him and stepped inside the bedroom.

"It's Luigi." He barely managed to keep the grumble out of his voice as he let his door close.

"Oh, that's right. Well, whatever. See here, I'm no damsel in distress; I can very well rescue myself. In fact, I will rescue myself. But to keep my guards, advisers, and everyone else who wants to complain happy, I want you to come with me and rubber stamp that I make a good heroine. I can make you very wealthy for doing this for me."

"I was told five of your castle staff have vanished since this thing appeared."

"Poppy-seeds! I'm sure they decided to leave my employ, that's all."

"Five of them? With no notice?" He couldn't entirely hide his disbelief.

"Okay, I admit the number is a bit suspicious, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Seems to me like you need actual help, not just a rubber-stamped seal of approval."

"Fine!" she stated in exasperation. "I'll let you help, but only to figure out where the monster is. I get to kill it."

There was no way he'd let her risk herself in such a way – he might not be his brother, but even he wasn't that stupid. However, he wasn't going to argue with her about it. "Deal."

"Good, I'll have someone bring you food. We'll start bright and early tomorrow."


	10. Chapter 3-1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 3-1**

He'd been trailing Princess Daisy for hours, going down one corridor after another – at least according to her – but many of them appeared identical. He'd actually be willing to go so far as to say that if there were any differences, then he certainly couldn't spot them.

So far, there had been no sighting of the mysterious beast.

In fact, he was starting to agree with the Princess's original assessment when it came to the missing Goombos and Toads.

Perhaps they _had_ left the castle or even been quietly fired.

Either way, one thing was certain, and that was there was no evidence... Just as there was no evidence of the monster.

"Fice T. stated you hadn't even seen this creature. I can't help but ask, are you even certain it exists? I mean, who has seen it?"

She shrugged slightly, practically tossing her hair with the motion. "There's been several sightings by numerous members of the castle, as well as the guard. Fice T. has seen it; my most trusted adviser, Moustafa has seen it as well. I trust them; besides, I doubt that many people would lie about it or make it up."

He'd often enough seen the adoring fans of Mario to know people usually just wanted to believe a good story.

"Hmm, I suppose."

"Also, we're not even halfway through the castle yet. You'll get to see some evidence of _something's_ existence soon. Maybe you'll know who – or maybe what – did it when you see what I'm talking about."

Even though Luigi heard Daisy's words clearly, he couldn't help but glance around uneasily at the umpteenth hall he'd been in, which looked identical. Her claim that they weren't even halfway done made him hope he didn't get lost and he seriously regretted not leaving some form of breadcrumb trail.

The castle had to be positively Tardis-like to be as large as she claimed.


	11. Chapter 3-2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 3-2**

Boos only knew how many disturbingly similar hallways later before there was finally a change.

Luigi came to an abrupt halt at the sight in front of him. It was clear, at one time, the hall he was in with Daisy was much the same as the rest. But that wasn't what it currently looked like.

In one section of the bright yellow and pale gray marble tiles which made up the majority of the wall, giant gouges were torn into it.

The span of the claw marks was huge, easily as big as Luigi's head. And a little farther ahead, there was a support beam which had been turned into rubble.

"This was discovered about a month ago. The scary thing is my bedroom isn't very far from here. I was in my bedroom at the time it happened and I didn't hear a thing," Daisy said.

"How could that even be possible?" he pondered aloud.

"I don't know, though my father always said I slept like the dead. Guess it's true. But do you still believe my people are lying, or do you think there's an actual monster?"

"There's definitely an actual monster," Luigi muttered. "As a matter of fact, though it doesn't look quite right, I almost agree with my neighbor."

"Your neighbor?" There was evident confusion in Daisy's voice.

"I live near a family of Goombos, and one of the kids, Goomborio, came and told me about the announcement in the town square that was petitioning for help. When he started telling me, it was an unknown beast, but by the time he left to tell someone else, the announcement was supposedly about a giant fire-breathing dragon. Needless to say, I had to read the actual bulletin for myself... But now I'm almost wondering if the kid isn't right."

"You think we have a dragon?"

"The gouges don't seem quite right, but the size of the marks... the sheer strength –" Luigi glanced at the pile of golf ball size pebbles again "– I can't imagine what else it could be."

He saw out of the corner of his eye as Daisy frowned. "A dragon, eh..."

Almost without warning, a bell tolled six times.

Daisy started. "Huh. We've been searching for twelve hours now. I think it's time we call it a day. We can head to the dining hall, and I'll have Kersti make us a grand meal. Then we can continue our hunt tomorrow."

Luigi opened his mouth to say he probably should head to bed, but what came out was, "Sounds fun."


	12. Chapter 3-3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 3-3**

"So tell me, how'd you end up here in Sarasaland?" Daisy leaned forward as she sat across the table from him after they finished their meal.

"It's hard to explain..."

"Try me, I'm a good listener, or I can be."

"I've lived in my big brother's shadow all my life, never quite good enough to be my own person. I had to get away from it."

"You think _I_ wouldn't understand being in a shadow. That's been my whole life. Except I'm not in a shadow of a person, instead I'm in the shadow of an expectation. People look at me, and they don't see Daisy. They don't see the girl who loves to play tennis and likes to sleep in late. They don't see the girl who is a fighter. Instead, they see _THE_ Princess Daisy. They see a damsel in distress. They see someone polite and sweet and... totally not me. But it's who I am, according to them. Trust me. I get being in a shadow."

"That's not really the..."

Daisy cut him off. "Don't even try to tell me that it isn't the same. It's _exactly_ the same."

His brows furrowed as he thought about it before he let out a slightly shocked chuckle. "I suppose you're right, at least in the broad spectrum of it."

"Still, if you moved here to avoid that shadow, I can't help but wonder what are you doing in this castle – trying to rescue the maiden and save the world?"

Luigi scowled. "I don't know if I could explain it."

"It's hard to walk away from expectation, isn't it?"

His scowl deepened as he refused to respond, not liking how easily she seemed to see through him.

Daisy smiled bitterly, almost as if to say she had been there and already had the t-shirt.

After a moment, she stood up, wiping her skirt off. "Come on, walk me back to bed."


	13. Chapter 3-4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 3-4**

"It's good there are shortcuts galore in this castle, or I'd never leave this wing," Daisy said as they once again reached the ruined corridor.

Even with the shortcuts and passages through the walls, it had taken almost an hour to reach there.

"I'm sort of surprised you do, anyway. I think I'd get lost."

"I grew up here." Daisy grinned at him before glancing toward the destruction, the smile fading. "Well, I suppose I should go on my own from here. My bedroom's just around the corner, and I'm pretty sure neither Moustafa nor Fice T. would find me taking a man to my bedroom as appropriate..."

"And I get back to my room –"

"Oh, that's easy, simply backtrack through the last three passageways, but then, instead of left, go right, and from there it's four more halls, a left, two rights, and one final left, and you'll practically be on top of the bedroom you were placed in by Fice T."

Luigi's mouth dropped open slightly, wholly lost without even starting the trek, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Anyway, night Luigi."

She headed down the hall without waiting for his reply, and, ever so slowly, he turned to try and find the secret exit that had brought him into the hall.

Without warning, a shriek rent the air.

Luigi spun around, but Daisy was no longer in view. Quickly, he raced forward, dashing around the corner only to come to a screeching halt at the sight in front of him.

The beast in front of him looked like some sort of a cross between Bowser and Wolf O'Donnell. With large claws and a massive maw. The creature was, in a word, horrifying.

Still, the most horrifying part was not the appearance of the beast itself, but the yellow pieces of cloth littering the ground and its chocolate brown fur – none of the fabric was near the creature's mouth.

The monster's blue eyes looked at him with fiery rage before it charged him.

Relying on instinct, he ducked and darted under the beast, racing toward the large wooden door. He quickly opened it and stood in the doorway, feinting to the left as the wolf-dragon creature turned and came after him.

As it went headfirst into the suite, Luigi slammed the door on Daisy.


	14. Post-Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Post-Story  
** _**(A)** _

The next morning came, too soon for Luigi, who had sat in front of the bedroom door all night.

The door slowly creaked open, giving him enough time to stand.

"Luigi, what are you doing here?" Daisy asked, her voice sounding confused.

"I saw the beast last night."

"What? Where? Did you recognize it?"

"I saw it just outside this room. And yeah, I recognized it... and I didn't."

"Huh?"

"I've never seen any creature like what as I saw last night, some sort wolf-dragon hybrid maybe, but I recognized it all the same. Because the monster is you."

"What! That's not possible."

"Think about it. You've said it yourself. You grew up here; you know this castle like the back of your hand. On top of that, you admitted that you didn't hear the destruction of a hall that's less than a hundred feet from where you sleep. Even though there's no way anyone could sleep through that. And if all of that doesn't convince you..." Luigi stepped to the side so she could get a better view of the hall, nodding his head at the scraps of cloth he'd left littering the floor.

The silence was deafening before Daisy started shaking her head adamantly. "No. No, no, no. It can't be!"

He quickly stepped forward as she started backing into her room. "It'll be alright."

Her head started jerking back and forth even more rapidly. "It can't be. If I'm... Then I... People are dead... My people... Because of me..."

Luigi took her hands and leaned forward, giving her the briefest of kisses to stop her semi-hysterical babble. When he pulled back, he said, "We'll figure it out. After all, you have to be the hero of this story, right?"

She managed to give a hope-filled watery smile, and he knew he got it right this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: To my FAGE giftee, I'm hoping that you enjoyed this story, even if this wasn't quite what you had in mind when you asked for a story about somebody revealing themselves to be a shapeshifter.
> 
> Beyond that, to everyone, you may notice this Post-Story has an A in parenthesis. The reason for this is because it is one of three potential endings. This is the one that I finally went with for my fanfiction posted story as it is the sweetest and most hopeful ending. But because I wrote the two other endings as well, I will be posting Post-Story B and C on my blog as unedited extras. If anyone wants to read them, that is where they will be found.


End file.
